Method and system for identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment

ABSTRACT

Computerized method and system for identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment and root causes therefor are provided. The method allows to provide a database comprising detailed equipment data including data indicative of historical equipment malfunctions in a plurality of pieces of equipment. The equipment data includes a unique equipment identifier for uniquely relating each malfunction to respective equipment. The method further allows to analyze the data base for a selected time window to review equipment malfunctions logged in the database and resulting in servicing activities over that time window. An equipment malfunction threshold for the number of malfunctions occurring during a predetermined period of time is established. The database is configured to automatically issue a report identifying any respective equipment as a repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the number of equipment malfunctions resulting in servicing activities over that time window exceeds the equipment malfunction threshold. An input/output device is provided to communicate with said database to receive the report from the database. A work order for the repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment is instantiated, wherein the order is configured to remain open at least until service personnel logs comment data into the work order indicative of possible root causes for the repeatedly malfunctioning equipment.

[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 60/258,747 filed on Dec. 29, 2000.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention relates to method and system for servicinggenerally complex equipment, and, more particularly, to computer-basedmethod and system for identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment.

[0003] The diagnosis, maintenance, and repair of generally complexequipment, such as mobile assets including on-road or off-road vehicles,ships, airplanes, railroad locomotives, trucks, and other forms ofcomplex equipment including industrial equipment, consumer applianceequipment, medical imaging equipment, equipment used in industrialprocesses, telecommunications, aerospace applications, power generation,etc., involves extremely complex and time consuming processes. In thecase of transportation equipment, efficient and cost-effective operationof a fleet of vehicles necessitates a reduction in the number of vehicleroad failures and minimization of vehicle down-time. This can beaccomplished by predicting impending failures, by performingpreventative maintenance, and by performing repairs quickly andaccurately. For example, it will be appreciated that the ability topredict failures before they occur allows for performing condition-basedmaintenance. Such maintenance can be conveniently scheduled based onstatistically and probabilistically meaningful vehicle statusinformation, instead of performing the maintenance regardless of theactual condition of a respective system, subsystem, assembly,subassembly, part, etc., such as would be the case if the maintenance isroutinely performed independent of whether any of the foregoingstructures actually requires the maintenance.

[0004] The conventional diagnosis and repair process for most vehiclesand other generally complex equipment is based on the experience of theservice technician, using paper-based information describing thestructure and operation of the equipment, and performance recordsmaintained in a log. Examining the log entries, experienced servicetechnicians can use their accumulated experience and training in mappingincidents occurring in locomotive systems, subsystems, assemblies,subassemblies, etc., to problems that may be causing these incidents.For simple problems, this process works well. However, if the problem iscomplex and the root cause difficult to discern, the experiencedtechnician may be unable to identify the problem and certainly much lesslikely to prognosticate problems before they occur.

[0005] Various equipment often incorporates diagnostic controls andsensors that report faults when anomalous operating conditions of theequipment arise. Typically, to diagnose the problem, a technician willstudy the fault log to identify the nature of the problem and determinewhether a repair is necessary. While the fault log can provide somediagnosis and repair information, the technician also reliessubstantially on his prior experiences with the equipment, or otherslike it, to make a full diagnosis.

[0006] To conduct the repair, the technician uses block diagrams,exploded diagrams, parts lists, assembly drawings, schematics, etc. Therepair information may be applicable only to a specific equipment bymodel number; the repair information will generally not be unique to thespecific equipment undergoing repair. It will be apparent that as thecomplexity of the equipment increases, the amount of paper needed todescribe the equipment to assist with the repair process likewiseincreases. Again, the technician will rely on his experiences with theequipment, and others like it, to perform the repair.

[0007] Yet another problem with a paper-based system is the variety offield-deployed equipment configurations, each having its own uniquetechnical support documentation. In the case of locomotives, even for aspecific model (identified by a model number), there may be severallocomotive configurations as locomotive subsystems were redesigned orchanged during the model production run. Thus, in a sense, no twolocomotives are the same. Adding this configuration complexity to apaper-based system presents an inordinately complex and unmanageableproblem of locating the correct technical repair documentation for aspecific locomotive.

[0008] Another repair issue involving complex equipment, such asrailroad locomotives or other mobile or stationary assets, is theunavailability of a repair history from which one could predictcomponent failures and undertake preventative maintenance beforehand.Technicians with wide ranging and lengthy experiences may be able topredict a component failure and repair it to avoid a breakdown duringoperation, in some limited situations.

[0009] One tool available for locomotive repair manually downloads faultlogs from a locomotive while it is parked at a maintenance facility.These fault logs are then uploaded to the railroad maintenance servicecenter. The tool also includes standardized helpful hints for repairtasks and fault analysis descriptors based on single failure faults.Although such a device represents an improvement over a paper-basedsystem, it falls short of the informational needs for a complexequipment, such as a locomotive, and fails to advantageously utilize thevarious technologies available for more efficiently predicting andperforming the repair.

[0010] The techniques of the present invention in one aspect thereof maybe useful for identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment and rootcauses therefor. For example, when a particular replaceable part at agiven location of the equipment repeatedly fails, may result in costlyand time consuming repairs that may not identify the root causes of suchrepeated malfunctions. The valuable servicing resources of the ownersand/or users of the equipment need to be efficiently used to compete inthe market place. However, such efficiencies may not be achieved due tothe lack of systematic and reliable mathodologies for identifying andcommunicating the findings of such malfunctions. Thus, it would bedesirable for service personnel to have available to them techniques forsystematically and reliably identifying the repeatedly malfunctioningequipment and root causes therefor.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Generally, the present invention fulfills the foregoing needs byproviding in one aspect thereof, a computerized method for identifyingrepeatedly malfunctioning equipment and root causes therefor. The methodallows to provide a database comprising detailed equipment dataincluding data indicative of historical equipment malfunctions in aplurality of pieces of equipment. The equipment data includes a uniqueequipment identifier for uniquely relating each malfunction torespective equipment. The method further allows to analyze the data basefor a selected time window to review equipment malfunctions logged inthe database and resulting in servicing activities over that timewindow. An equipment malfunction threshold for the number ofmalfunctions occurring during a predetermined period of time isestablished. The database is configured to automatically issue a reportidentifying any respective equipment as arepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the number of equipmentmalfunctions resulting in servicing activities over that time windowexceeds the equipment malfunction threshold. An input/output device isprovided to communicate with said database to receive the report fromthe database. A work order for the repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipmentis instantiated, wherein the order is configured to remain open at leastuntil service personnel logs comment data into the work order indicativeof possible root causes for the repeatedly malfunctioning equipment.

[0012] The present invention further fulfills the foregoing needs byproviding in another aspect thereof a computerized system foridentifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment and root causestherefor. The system includes a database comprising detailed equipmentdata including data indicative of historical equipment malfunctions in aplurality of pieces of equipment. The equipment data includes a uniqueequipment identifier for uniquely relating each malfunction torespective equipment. A processor is configured to analyze the data basefor a selected time window to review equipment malfunctions logged inthe database and resulting in servicing activities over that timewindow. Memory is configured to store an equipment malfunction thresholdfor the number of malfunctions occurring during a predetermined periodof time. A report module in the database is configured to automaticallyissue a report identifying any respective equipment as arepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the number of equipmentmalfunctions resulting in servicing activities over that time windowexceeds the equipment malfunction threshold. An input/output device isconfigured to communicate with the database to receive the report fromthe database. The device is further configured to instantiate a workorder for the repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment, wherein said order isconfigured to remain open at least until service personnel logs commentdata into the work order indicative of possible root causes for therepeatedly malfunctioning equipment.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The present invention can be more easily understood and thefurther advantages and uses thereof more readily apparent, whenconsidered in view of the description of various exemplary embodimentsand the following figures in which:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a pictorial rendering of an exemplary system that may beused for practicing aspects of the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing exemplary subsystems for thesystem of FIG. 1;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a pictorial rendering showing exemplary elements of awireless embodiment in accordance with one aspect of the presentinvention;

[0017]FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen display of a portable unit such asmay used to implement aspects of the present invention;

[0018]FIGS. 5 and 6 are respective flow charts illustrating an exemplaryrepair process for a given equipment;

[0019]FIG. 7 is a block diagram of exemplary components of a systemconstructed according to aspects of the invention;

[0020]FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for identifyingrepeatedly malfunctioning equipment in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

[0021]FIG. 9 is block diagram showing an exemplary embodiment of asystem that may be used for practicing the flow chart of FIG. 9;

[0022] FIGS. 10-12 illustrate exemplary screens that may be used forconveying information related to repeatedly malfunctioning equipment;and

[0023]FIG. 13 illustrates a process flow chart showing operationaldetails of aspects of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Before describing in detail various aspects of the presentinvention, it should be observed that the present invention broadlycomprises a novel combination of processing steps/actions and/orhardware/software configured to quickly and reliably meet the servicingneeds of generally complex equipment that may comprise multiplegenerally interrelated systems, assemblies, subassemblies, parts, etc.Accordingly, these processing steps/actions and hardware/softwarecomponents have been represented by generic processes and elements inthe drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent tothe present invention, so as not to obscure the disclosure withstructural details or operational interrelationships that will bereadily apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of thedescription herein.

[0025]FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of an exemplary system thatmay benefit from the techniques of the present invention. Althoughillustrated and described with respect to a railroad locomotive 12,those skilled in the art will understand that the teachings of thepresent invention are applicable to many types of equipment, includingthose which may be part of a large fleet, such as trucks, ships,off-road vehicles, airplanes, etc. The locomotive 12, such as may beparked at a railroad service yard 13, may be serviced by a technician orother service personnel holding a portable unit 14. In one embodiment,the portable unit 14 communicates with a railroad service shop 16including an antenna 18 via any of various well-known wireless or wiredcommunication systems and protocols, including an Internet connectionusing the TCP/IP protocols, tone modems, ISDN or XDSL protocols over thepublic switched telephone network or a cable modem. In one exemplaryembodiment, access may be provided to information gathered at amonitoring and diagnostic service center 20 (MDSC) via a communicationsnetwork, such as the Internet. It will be appreciated that other networkconfigurations may be used. For example, an intranet including theportable unit 14, the service shop 16 and the MDSC 20 can be used toprovide communications between these devices. It will be appreciatedthat the present invention is not limited to embodiments interconnectedto the MSDC 20 since many of the techniques of the present invention canbe implemented independently of MSDC 20. It will be further appreciatedthat the techniques of the present invention are not limited toembodiments using a portable unit since it is contemplated that othercommunication or input/output device, such as a kiosk, computerterminal, or other computer peripherals may be used for enabling thevarious communications interrelationships described below.

[0026] Repair, maintenance, and diagnostic information is exchangedbetween the portable unit 14 and the MSDC 20 via the railroad serviceshop 16. Parts information is exchanged between the portable unit 14 anda parts requisition center 22. Further, contractual information, such aswarranty information, is exchanged with a customer center 24. Generally,the parts requisition center 22, the customer center 24, and the MDSC 20are located remote from the service shop 16 and the service yard 13. Therequisition center 22, the customer center 24, the MDSC 20, and theservice shop 16 may be linked via a global information network, such asthe Internet and the World Wide Web, via an intranet or bypoint-to-point communications system, examples of which are discussedabove. Because the Internet provides the ability to communicate data andinformation in a multimedia format, it is especially useful forcommunicating and displaying the large amount of data associated withthe repair, maintenance and diagnosis of the locomotive 12.

[0027] Note that in another embodiment, the portable unit 14 cancommunicate directly (via a wired or wireless system using any of thecommunications techniques discussed above) with the parts requisitioncenter 22, the customer center 24 and the MDSC 20, rather thancommunicating through the service shop 16. The portable unit 14 can alsointerrogate an on-board monitoring and diagnostic system (notspecifically shown in FIG. 1) of the locomotive 12. The on-boardmonitoring and diagnostic system is described in detail in the patentapplication entitled “On-Board Monitor for a Railroad Locomotive”,application Ser. No. 09/696,368, filed on Oct. 25, 2000, (Attorneydocket number 624226.133/20-LC-1978), which is assigned to the owner ofthe present invention. The on-board monitor monitors certain operationalparameters on the locomotive 12 and reports faults and anomalousconditions directly to the MDSC 20 via an independent communicationssystem, as described in the aforementioned patent application.

[0028] While at the locomotive, the technician, using his portable unit14, has access to a plethora of repair, diagnostic, and operationalinformation needed to efficiently and accurately trouble shootlocomotive problems and undertake the necessary repairs. The portableunit 14 downloads repair recommendations generated by analysis softwareand/or locomotive repair experts at the MDSC 20. From the portable unit14, the technician also has access to repair resources, such as repairmanuals, field modification instructions, schematics, block diagrams,etc. Special software tools related to the repair task are alsoavailable at the portable unit 14, as transmitted from the diagnosticservice center 20. The portable unit 14 allows easy and seamlessintegration of the repair recommendation with the railroad's work ordersystem as managed and controlled at the service shop 16. The systemprovides parts ordering and parts tracking via communications with theparts requisition center 22. Repair experts at the monitoring anddiagnostic service center 20 can also provide individualized assistanceto the technician via the portable unit 14, using an instant messagingfeature incorporated therein. Problem resolution suggestions and repairactions can be created prior to access by the repair technician or theycan be authored in real time by experts at the monitoring and diagnosticservice center 20 and immediately transmitted to the portable unit 14.The repair technician can also provide visual information back to themonitoring and diagnostic center 20 (over an Internet connection, forexample) using a camera attached to the portable unit 14. Still or videoimages can be provided by such a camera. The video information may alsobe accompanied by live audio information (as spoken by the technician),thereby allowing the technician to communicate with personnel at themonitoring and diagnostic service center 20 to confer about a particularproblem or repair action. In those cases where the locomotive componentsinclude a bar code for encoding certain features or characteristics ofthe component, a bar code reader attached to the portable unit 14 can beused to decode the bar code information and transmit the decodedinformation (or the bar code itself) to the monitoring and diagnosticservice center 20 over the communication links previously described. Theportable unit 14 and its visual interface replace the prior artpaper-based information, thereby simplifying and expediting the repairprocess. Upon completion of the repair, the portable unit 14 generates afeedback report describing the nature of the problem and the repairactions taken. This report is sent to the monitoring and diagnosticservice center 20, where it will be included with the repair history forthat locomotive.

[0029] It will be appreciated that the present invention provides thetechnician with essentially all the information he needs to effectivelyconduct the diagnosis and repair procedures, relying on information thatis transmitted from sources distant from the repair site. Having allthis information available, including help from repair experts, avoidsthe use of paper copies, and ensures a quick and accurate diagnosis andrepair of the locomotive 12. Further, via the portable unit 14, thetechnician can request individualized expert assistance from thediagnostic service center 20 when problems or issues arise that he isincapable of handling.

[0030] The monitoring and diagnostic service center 20 is operated bypersonnel who are experts in trouble shooting railroad locomotives.Information received about the locomotive 12 from the portable unit 14can be electronically processed and then visually displayed to theserepair experts. The repair expert analyzes the information and producesa recommendation identifying the potential root cause or root causes ofthe problem. The repair information is then delivered to the portableunit 14 for execution of the recommended actions in a timely fashion,providing an enhanced degree of accuracy in carrying out the repairprocedure.

[0031] There are at least three different classes of maintenanceprocedures that may be performed on the locomotive 12. The first arepredictive in nature. That is, based on information downloaded from thelocomotive 12, experts at the monitoring and diagnostic service center20 determine that a given component of the locomotive may be on a pathtoward eventual failure. It is important for the technician to replacethis component to avoid a locomotive failure while it is in operation.The second class of maintenance procedures are those that are planned inadvance to occur on a predetermined schedule. These are otherwise knownas planned maintenance. Planned maintenance can be based on, forexample, the number of locomotive service hours or the number of milesit has traveled since the last maintenance action. Again, the objectiveis to avoid failure during locomotive operation. In-service failures areespecially costly and inefficient for railroad operations, because thelocomotive and the train consist may have to be moved back to a servicefacility to undertake the required repairs. Clearly, this is anexpensive and disruptive effort for railroad operations. Finally, thelast repair class is those maintenance problems requiring immediateattention due to a component failure that disables or causes derating ofthe locomotive. With regular and timely predictive and preventivemaintenance, the number of maintenance actions in the third category canbe minimized.

[0032] Although not illustrated in FIG. 1, it is well known in the artthat the locomotive 12 may have an on-board monitoring system formonitoring and recording data related to various operational aspects.The on-board monitoring system identifies faulty components and providesfault codes for use by the repair technician in diagnosing the problem.Also, the on-board monitoring system records the number of milestraveled, the amount of fuel consumed, the number of service hours, etc.In some locomotives, there may be more than one on-board monitoringsystem, each associated with different locomotive subsystems. In anycase, the technician, using his portable unit 14, can access data storedin the on-board monitoring system and transmit it to any of therecipient sites shown in FIG. 1. This operational information may bedesirable in the diagnostic and repair process. In some cases, dependingupon the nature of the fault or anomalous condition, the on-boardmonitor automatically transmits this information back to the MDSC 20,where a repair recommendation is formulated and then made available tothe portable unit 14, in a manner to be discussed further below. Forthose locomotives that do not have an onboard monitor, the technicianmay have to directly extract information from the locomotive 12 andforward this information to the MDSC 20. To extract this information andprovide it to the MDSC 20, the technician may use the video camera orbar code reader in conjunction with the portable unit 14, as discussedabove.

[0033]FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating various exemplary databasesand modules to which users, e.g., a technician or any other personnelassociated with services operations, may have access (directly orindirectly) through the portable unit 14. The databases and modules arealso linked bi-directionally so that the technician can move seamlesslyfrom one to the other either manually or automatically through ahyperlink process whenever the required information is stored in morethan one location.

[0034] The present invention in one aspect thereof contemplates anelectronic service delivery system (that is, E-izing) that allows manysoftware applications and databases such as those illustrated in FIG. 2,to be available and utilized at the site where a technician is toperform diagnosis, maintenance, or repair services on any mobile asset,such as the locomotive 12. The present invention provides streamliningand standardizing of service information and multiple processes as wellas providing the technician with all the required information needed torepair the locomotive 12 on location.

[0035] An interface unit 40 is shown generally for conditioning datatransferred between the various information sources of FIG. 2 and theportable unit 14. The interface unit 40 provides data conditioning,modulation or demodulation of a carrier signal to transmit or recover aninformation signal and signal conditioning for baseband transmission, asdependent on the nature of the communications channel. The interfaceunit 40 supports both wired and wireless transmissions and their relatedprotocols. Both the portable unit 14 and the MDSC 20 communicatebi-directionally with the various databases and modules of FIG. 2 forthe purpose of entering data into or extracting data from the databasesand modules.

[0036] An expert repository 42 stores the repair recommendationsauthored at the MDSC 20. These recommendations include: suggestedrepairs based on operational and/or failure information extracted fromthe on-board monitoring system of the locomotive derived from symptomsreported by the repair technician, or planned maintenance actions, orfield modifications or upgrades. The recommendation can includesuggested trouble shooting actions to further refine the repairrecommendation and links to appropriate repair instructions, schematics,wiring diagrams, parts catalogs, and trouble shooting guides to make thediagnosis and repair process easier. Diagnosis information can bereturned to the MDSC 20 in real time via the portable unit 14 forfurther analysis in the development and refinement of a repairrecommendation. At the MDSC 20, expert systems, artificial intelligencetools, and case-based reasoning tools are used to develop the specificrepair recommendations stored in the expert repository 42. These toolsare discussed in greater detail in the commonly owned patent applicationentitled “Apparatus and Method for Performance and Fault Data Analysis”bearing patent application Ser. No. 09/629,597, filed on Jul. 31, 2000,(Attorney docket number 624226.144/20-LC-1974, 1975, 1976, 1998). Forlocomotives having an onboard monitor that generates a specific code fora specific operational fault, that code can be used to retrieve relevantdiagnosis and repair information from the expert repository 42. Theexpert repository 42 can also include special procedures providing thetechnician with up-to-date procedures for performing certain tasks onthe locomotive 12.

[0037] An operational parameter database 44 is the storage site for theoperational data and information items that are transmitted between themonitoring and diagnostic service center 20 and the locomotive 12. Thetransmitted information, which is continually updated as new informationis received, includes: fault codes, repair action feedback, repairaction analysis, inspection results, operational information, and repairschedules. After recommendations are prepared at the MDSC 20, they arestored in the operational parameter database 44, while awaitingtransmission to the portable unit 14 for implementation. Operationparametric trending information is also stored within the operationaldatabase 44. The trends can calculated by comparing operational valuesover a period of time and comparing those values with historical data ornominal data for similar or identical locomotives.

[0038] An inspection information database 46 stores informationindicating planned inspection dates for the locomotive 12. Theinspection schedule is unique to each individual locomotive, based onthe locomotive identification or road number. When a locomotive is duefor inspection, the appropriate inspection procedures, stored in theinspection information database 46, are transmitted to the portable unit14. In one embodiment, the repair procedure includes feedback boxes foreach inspection step. These feedback boxes are completed by thetechnician and automatically generate a summary inspection report thatis saved in the repair information database 46 or printed for filing.Procedures for performing rail car and daily locomotive inspections arealso stored in the inspection information database 46.

[0039] The inspection information database 46 further includes a wizardsmodule to aid the inspection process. The wizards, which includestandard inspection processes to identify locomotive problems, presentthe inspection process in a step-by-step procedure that eliminatesguesswork on the part of the technician. Further, the technician is ableto choose the order in which the inspection is conducted only if theindividual inspection tasks are not interdependent. The wizards modulefurther provides access to technical information in the expertrepository 42 as necessary. In addition to the inspection wizards,maintenance wizards walk the technician through maintenance processesthat need to be carefully controlled to ensure a quality result. Thesteps of the maintenance wizards are integrated with a repair ormaintenance work order and may further utilize back-end information(i.e., e-training, technical manuals and schematics). The maintenancewizards also provides access to trouble shooting wizards as appropriate.The trouble shooting wizards isolate a problem to a specific part andthen create a work order for the repair of that part.

[0040] Using the portable unit 14, the technician can enter a locomotiveidentification number or road number to retrieve a history of pastrepairs from a locomotive history database 50. A feedback featureassociated with each repair task prompts the technician to enter certaininformation as repair steps are completed. This information is capturedat the MDSC 20 and stored in the locomotive history database 50 tocreate a parts usage history and a record of the repair tasks completed.For example, a serial number and a description of each part used duringa repair is retained within the locomotive history database 50. Eachrepair task has an appropriate closing code. The technician closes therepair using the appropriate code, after which the locomotive can bereturned to service. The locomotive history database 50 includes threeclasses of repair: repairs not started, repairs in progress, and closedrepairs.

[0041] Additional information available to the technician resides in amaintenance planning and scheduling database 52. Using this database,the technician can access railroad shop management tools and generateand modify locomotive maintenance and repair work orders and schedules.The technician can also access standard work orders and procedures andadapt them as necessary to a specific locomotive. Information concerningrepairs in progress is also available in the maintenance planning andscheduling database 52, on a real time basis. Information about aspecific locomotive's “health” is available from the maintenanceplanning and scheduling database 52 by checking the pending and forecastinspections and repairs. Pending repair or maintenance work ordersstored in the maintenance planning and scheduling database 52 include anestimated repair time and the site where the repair is to be performed.Further, each standard repair process is assigned a repair code and eachrepair code has an associated repair time estimate. Collectively, thisrepair time information aids the railroad management with schedulinglocomotives for return-to-service. The maintenance planning andscheduling database 52 further includes a safety-on-the job moduleproviding easy and fast access to online safety rules and procedures.

[0042] The locomotive repair technicians have quick and easy access toaccurate locomotive hardware and software version configurations via aconfiguration management information database 54. The hardware andsoftware elements incorporated into a locomotive can be different, evenwithin the same locomotive model. Thus, each locomotive is uniquelyidentified with a road number and the configuration managementinformation database 54 allows retrieval of configuration informationbased on the unique locomotive road number. The technician needsaccurate knowledge of the locomotive configuration before undertaking adiagnosis or repair. Heretofore, configuration information has beengenerally available only in paper form, and given the complexity of arailroad locomotive, the amount of paper describing the locomotive andits particular hardware and software configuration can be substantial,and difficult to manage and utilize. Also, the configuration managementinformation database 54 advises the technician when software or hardwarechanges are required to upgrade the locomotive to the most recentconfiguration. The configuration management database 54 also includesall field modifications which alert the technician to suggested ormandatory modifications, including instructions for performing them foreach locomotive, as issued by the locomotive manufacturer.

[0043] The configuration management database 54 also validates softwareapplication prior to loading into a specific locomotive 12. That is, ifthe software version is not compatible with other hardware or softwarecomponents of the locomotive 12, approval for integration will not begranted. The configuration management database 54 can further identifythe locomotive for which new software versions apply and can generate awork order for implementing that software version into the locomotive12. As a result, software version incompatibility problems are avoided.

[0044] A repair information vault 56 includes a homepage address (e.g. auniversal resource locator) for each repair code, with a link to repairinstructions, schematics, parts catalogues, back shop manuals, operatingmanuals, drawings, trouble shooting guides, fault analysis manuals,maintenance manuals, video clips, still photographs, audio instructions,etc. All information in the repair information vault 56 is key wordsearchable by the technician (to avoid page-by-page searching), and allthe data is linked (much like World Wide Web hyperlinks) for ease innavigating and locating the appropriate information. For example,acronyms and part numbers are linked to the applicable catalog in theparts-ordering module 58 discussed below. Retrieval of the technicaldocumentation in the repair information vault 56 can be further limitedto portions of a larger document to avoid overwhelming the technicianwith too much information. The repair information vault 56, in oneembodiment, includes a road number navigator to provide a searchablefield for retrieving relevant information stored within the informationvault 56 by entry of the locomotive road number. The repair informationvault 56 further includes a series of online skill-based tutorialsranging from the simplest to the most complicated diagnosis and repairtasks. For instance, the entry level tutorial may provide overallfamiliarization with the locomotive operating systems and the mostadvanced level teaches detailed analysis and diagnostic concepts.

[0045] The technical documentation included within the repairinformation vault 56 provides quick and easy access viavisual-drill-down techniques to specific sections of the documentation,as required for a given repair. The searchable features offer easyaccess to specific technical information (e.g., torque values) toimprove the accuracy and efficiency of repairs. Specific repairprocedures can also be reviewed to improve the safety of the repairprocess.

[0046] The parts-ordering module 58 is also available to the technicianvia the portable unit 14. There are two types of parts orders: generalinventory orders and repair orders. An online ordering system, includedin the parts ordering module 58, allows direct parts ordering forinventory or for a specific repair, and access to the railroad's partsinventory to determine if the part is already available there. Repairparts ordered for a specific repair are matched with the locomotiveconfiguration to ensure the correct part is obtained. The parts orderingmodule 58 also provides access to online catalogs issued by suppliers oflocomotive components. General inventory orders are executed wheneverthe railroad's inventory for a part falls below a predeterminedthreshold. The parts ordering module 58 further includes easy-to-usevisual navigation allowing the technician to drill down to pictures of alocomotive to pick a specific part without knowledge of the part number.Further, the availability of the required part is indicated and ifavailable, the part can marked for delivery to the service yard 13.

[0047] The parts-ordering module 58 provides electronic inventoryconsumption recording so that inventory can be shipped from the supplierto the railroad operator or party responsible for the repair. Theparts-ordering module 58 is integrated with the maintenance planning andscheduling database 52 to insure that parts required for scheduledmaintenance activities are available in inventory just prior to thescheduled maintenance. This technique improves the forecasting ofinventory purchases and assures that the parts inventory is maintainedat an optimum level. Information regarding the number of parts ininventory and the location of such parts (for example, in thegeographically distributed inventory shops maintained by the railroad orparty providing repair services) is also available in the parts-orderingmodule 58.

[0048] Once parts are ordered, the ordered parts tracking module 60allows tracking of all active and historical parts orders for alocomotive, e.g., whether shipped on back order and the quantityordered. The tracking function can be driven by the locomotiveidentification number, by the order number or the part number.

[0049] A warranty information module 62 allows access to the applicablelocomotive warranty documents. By entering a locomotive identificationnumber, personnel can view all warranty information about thatlocomotive and its components. Warranty claims can also be submitted andtracked via the warranty information module 62.

[0050] A process improvement module 63 provides information and tools(such as data warehouse reports) to analyze the effectiveness of therepair process and the overall operations at the service shop 16. Theprocess improvement module 63 also tracks cycle time for individualmaintenance steps and for the execution of specific repairs.

[0051] A shop planning and scheduling module 64 provides currentinformation and processes to plan the maintenance of a plurality oflocomotives 12 at the service shop 16 or a service yard 13. The planningand scheduling module 64 also includes a monitor board or display foridentifying the status of the implementation of the servicerecommendations on each locomotive in the service shop 16 or at theservice yard 13.

[0052] All the databases and modules discussed above are available sevendays a week and 24 hours a day from the portable unit 14. There islittle or no human intervention required to access them, and thus aroundthe clock availability is ensured.

[0053] In those embodiments and/or situations where it is necessary forthe technician to extract information from the locomotive 12, thetechnician connects the portable unit 14 to a locomotive interface(e.g., an Ethernet connection) to communicate with the locomotiveon-board monitoring system. The portable unit user interface guides thecollection of information from the locomotive 12 and also providesmemory for temporary data storage. Later, the data can be transferred tothe railroad service shop 16 and/or to the monitoring and diagnosticservice center 20. In one embodiment, the portable unit 14 includes abar code scanner for reading the locomotive identification number, partnumbers, and serial numbers. Use of a scanner for parts identificationensures accurate information feedback to both the parts ordering module58 and the ordered parts tracking module 60. In another embodiment theportable unit 14 includes a camera for providing visual information backto the monitoring and diagnostic service center 20.

[0054] In one embodiment, the portable unit 14 functions as a standalone device, performing the transactions discussed above withoutphysical connection to a data portal. As shown in FIG. 3, the portableunit can comprise various styles and configurations, designated byreference character 70. The portable units 70 communicate via an RFwireless link, with one or more access points 72. The access points 72is connected to an Ethernet hub 74, which then provides connectivity toa host server 76, via an Ethernet based media 78, employing, forexample, the TCP/IP protocol. The access points 72 serve as bothreceivers and transmitters (i.e., transceivers) to both receiveinformation from and transmit information to the portable units 70,including the information discussed above in conjunction with FIG. 2. Inone embodiment, one access point 72 can support up to 400 portableunits. Various data security measures, including encryption can beemployed on the communication link. Use of a wireless link also allowseasy expansion, as the wireless scheme can accommodate both small andlarge wireless networks, and does not require running new wires as thenetwork expands. In another embodiment of the present invention, theportable unit 14 can be connected to a data communications line via awire based medium, such as the land-based telephone system, a cellularsystem or a satellite based communication system. Although shown as arelatively simple device including a display, the portable unit 14 inother embodiments, may include a full size monitor, a key board, mouse,printer and/or other related input/output devices for enabling andexpanding the interaction between the technician and the portable unit14. Information is conveniently displayed on the portable unit 14 at theclick of a mouse, the touch of a screen, a voice command, etc. dependentupon the specific operational features of the various portable units 70illustrated in FIG. 3. In one embodiment, the portable unit 14 comprisesa handheld ViA computer, loaded with the appropriate softwareapplications, available from ViA, Inc., of Burnsville, Minn.

[0055] The portable unit 14 also offers an instant messaging featureallowing the technician to quickly communicate repair information (forexample, fault codes, diagnostic readings, or simple descriptive text)to a repair expert at the monitoring and diagnostic service center 20.The repair expert can respond directly to the technician through theportable unit 14. This feature is intended for use during the collectionof additional diagnostic information or when problems are encounteredduring the course of a repair.

[0056] The portable unit 14 includes a graphical user interface. Anexemplary screen is shown in FIG. 4. The information is presented in aclear and concise style so that users with all ranges of experience canadequately use and understand the displayed information. The portableunit 14 offers short cut links to commonly used data and functions forexperienced users, with more detailed instructional links for lessexperienced users. The portable unit 14 also has a back-out feature tomove from the current screen to the previous screen, in this way leavingthe user with no dead ends. Regardless of the locomotive that isundergoing repair, all applications and information on the portable unit14 and all file formats, (no matter there origin from one of the manydatabases illustrated in FIG. 2) utilize the same presentation formatand in this way their source will be transparent to the technician.

[0057]FIGS. 5 and 6 are flow charts showing exemplary steps that may beinvolved in implementing a service recommendation according to oneaspect of the present invention. Typically, the service recommendationis a recommendation for a repair, but the teachings of the presentinvention are not so limited. Service recommendations can also involvemaintenance procedures or diagnostic processes with the objective offinding the root cause for a fault or anomalous condition. At a step100, a technician arrives at the service yard 13 where the locomotive isparked. The technician retrieves his portable unit 14 (step 102) andsigns on at a step 104. At a step 106, the technician enters thelocomotive road number or other locomotive identification number, whichis transmitted to the service shop 16. FIG. 5 illustrates thistransmission through a wireless arrangement, although as will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, there could also be awire-based connection between the portable unit 14 and the service shop16. The service shop 16 may then establish a communications connectionwith the customer center 24 and/or the MDSC 20. The portable unit 14queries the MDSC 20 for information for the locomotive road numberentered at the step 106. The technician may request any of the itemsdiscussed in conjunction with FIG. 2, such as repair or maintenanceinformation, historical repairs, etc. Once the requested information isreceived at the service shop 16, it is sent to the portable unit 14, asillustrated at a step 108.

[0058] Information sent from the portable unit 14 to the MDSC 20includes problems with a locomotive, the current status of locomotivesystems, repair requests, diagnostic information and video clips andstill photographs. Locomotive problems may be observed directly by thetechnician or downloaded from the locomotive on-board monitoring systemas previously discussed. Information returned to the portable unit 14from the customer center 24 and the MDSC 20 includes recommended repairsand relevant technical documentation required to perform the repairs asdiscussed in conjunction with FIG. 2. This information is displayed onthe portable unit 14 to allow the technician to accurately and quicklyrepair the locomotive. The information displayed on the portable unit 14includes a pictorial view of the locomotive and its constituent parts,repair steps, technical documentation relevant to the repair, and thetools necessary to perform the repair. Assembly diagrams and assemblyinstructions are also displayed. Multimedia information, such as videoclips or audio instructions can also be transmitted to the portable unit14 from the MDSC 20. In short, all information discussed in conjunctionwith FIG. 2 is immediately available to assist the technician withdiagnosis, repairing and/or servicing of the locomotive.

[0059] Continuing to FIG. 6, a step 120 represents the technician'sexecution of the repair or service task. A decision step 122 askswhether the repair has been completed. When completed, processingcontinues to a step 124 where the locomotive is signed out from therepair site, either the service yard 13 or the service shop 16. At astep 126, release procedures are executed, after which the locomotive isreturned to service. The release procedures involve confirming that allnecessary steps required for return to service have been completed andgenerating a notice to railroad operational personnel that thelocomotive 12 is ready to return to service.

[0060] If the repair has not been completed at the decision step 122,processing continues to a decision step 128, where inquiry is made as towhether a new part is needed to complete the repair. If a new part isnot required, processing continues to a step 130 to determine why therepair has not been completed. For example, there may have been awork-force shift change during the repair process. In any case, thereasons why the repair has not been completed are communicated to theservice shop 16 by the technician via the portable Unit 14.

[0061] If a new part is needed, processing moves from the decision step128 to a parts requisition step 132, where, the portable unit 14communicates with the service shop 16 to requisition the part. A step134 is executed for those parts that must be ordered from a third partysupplier, via the parts requisition center 22. As illustrated by step136, once the part has been ordered, the technician can continue thediagnostic and repair process for another locomotive or perform anotherrepair on the current locomotive.

[0062] The electronic data delivery system of the present inventionprovides in one aspect thereof an improvement in the diagnosis, repairand maintenance of a mobile asset such as the locomotive 12 by applyingE-business technologies to replace the prior manual paper-basedprocesses. A benefit derived from applying these technologies includesimproved availability of the mobile asset by reducing the cycle time ofthe repairs and more efficient and focused repair processes.Additionally, by using the various databases and modules illustrated inFIG. 2, the many processes related to a repair operation will bemeasurably improved in accordance with the teaching of the presentinvention.

[0063] The diagnosis and repair system 140, the portable unit server141, and the portable unit 14, constructed according to aspects of thepresent invention are illustrated in FIG. 7. While FIG. 2diagrammatically illustrates the individual databases and informationsources accessible to the portable unit 14, FIG. 7 depicts aspects ofthe present invention from the system/subsystem level. The diagnosis andrepair system 140 includes a recommendation authoring system 182, arepair status system 184, a technical documentation system 186, and theinterface unit 40, previously discussed in conjunction with FIG. 2. Withreference to the individual databases and information sources shown inFIG. 2, the recommendation authoring subsystem 182 includes the expertrepository 42 and the operational parameter database 44. The repairstatus subsystem 184 includes the locomotive history database 50, themaintenance planning and scheduling database 52, the repair informationvault 56, and the inspection information database 46. As suggestedabove, the diagnosis and repair system 140 may communicate with theportable unit 14 via the portable unit server 141. The communicationlink between the portable unit server 141 and the interface unit 140 canbe either wired or wireless. Likewise, the portable unit 14 communicates(using either a wired or wireless media) with various components aboardthe locomotive 12. In particular, the portable unit 14 extracts datafrom and provides data to an on-board monitoring system 194. Also, theportable unit 14 can query other locomotive subsystems, shown generallyby a reference character 196.

[0064] The recommendation authoring subsystem 182 provides thefunctionality for authoring general repair recommendations andinstantiating specific recommendations for a locomotive. Therecommendation authoring system 182 provides the following exemplaryfunctions: defining the steps involved in a repair, specifying therelevant technical documentation to accompany the repair recommendationand specifying the data that needs to be collected by the technician toexecute the repair. The repair recommendation, instructions, and data tobe collected are compiled into a cohesive deliverable package that iseventually delivered to the portable unit 14. In one embodiment, thecompiled information is provided as a web formatted package. By using aweb format (or other standardized format) the information can bedisplayed on the portable unit 14 in a standard format with which thetechnician will eventually become familiar. Consistency and familiaritywith the repair information format allows the technician to efficientlynavigate through the information provided and in this way increase hisproductivity. One feature of the recommendation authoring subsystem 182is the creation of repair-specific process steps (including all relevanttechnical documentation necessary to execute each step) for thetechnician. Using all the general diagnosis, repair and technicalinformation available, the recommendation authoring subsystem 182selects only that information needed for a specific repair as associatedwith a specific locomotive based on a unique locomotive designator, suchas the road number, and presents this to the technician. Withrepair-specific information and back-up technical documentation readilyavailable, the technician can more easily and efficiently execute therepair process.

[0065] The repair status subsystem 184 maintains and providesinformation on the status of a repair. This information is based onfeedback provided by the technician during and after completion of therepair. The technical documentation subsystem 186 maintains thetechnical documentation for the locomotives and supports the selectionand retrieval of the appropriate technical documentation into a repairspecific set of relevant technical documentation.

[0066] The portable unit server 141 disseminates repair instructions tothe portable units 14 and collects information from those units.Although only one portable unit 14 is shown in FIG. 7, it will beunderstood that the portable unit server 141 can communicate with manyportable units 14, as shown in FIG. 3. It is expected that eachtechnician or team of technicians with service or repair responsibilitywill have a portable unit 14. The functionality provided by the portableunit server 141 includes: serving as a communications link to theinterface unit 40, connecting with and identifying each portable unit 14at power up, transferring feedback files from the portable unit 14 tothe diagnosis and repair system 140, transferring the repairrecommendations and relevant technical documentation to the portableunit 14, synchronizing clock times, validating the identity of thetechnician using the portable unit 14 and clearing files from theportable unit 14 once these files have been transferred to the portableunit server 141. In one embodiment of the present invention, theportable unit 14 can communicate directly with the diagnosis and repairsystem 140, thus rendering the portable unit server 141 unnecessary. Insuch an embodiment, the tasks performed by the portable unit server 141are performed by the diagnosis and repair system 140 and/or by theportable unit 14.

[0067] The portable unit 14 displays the repair instructions to therepair technician and creates a record of the service event. Among thefunctions of the portable unit 14 are: providing a log in and log outinterface, displaying repair instructions and all supporting technicaldocumentation (including multimedia information), accepting repairfeedback information and updating the repair feedback file when a repairaction is finished and communicating with the locomotive 12 to extractinformation from the on-board monitoring system 194 and the otherlocomotive subsystems 196.

[0068] In one exemplary embodiment, a principal function of therecommendation authoring subsystem 182 is to select general repairrecommendations from the various sources available within the diagnosisand repair system 140 and to transform this information into a set oflocomotive-specific, repair-specific instructions and relevantdocumentation. The recommendation and authoring subsystem 182, in oneembodiment, is located at the monitoring and diagnostic service center20. A general repair recommendation is those repair actions (i.e., asequence of steps to be performed by the technician to execute therepair) that are responsive to a given set of fault codes. These faultcodes are downloaded by the portable unit 14 from the on-boardmonitoring system 194 and the other locomotive subsystems 196, andprovided to the recommendation authoring subsystem 182. The fault codesmay also be communicated directly and automatically to the MDSC 20 fromthe on-board monitor, as discussed in detail in the aforementionedpatent application entitled “On-Board Monitor for a RailroadLocomotive”. In the present invention, the general repairrecommendations are instantiated into a specific repair recommendationfor a given fault that has occurred on a specific (i.e., road number)locomotive 12. A user display 187 is responsive to the recommendationauthoring subsystem 182 for use by the repair expert 142 in formulatingthe repair recommendation.

[0069] The technical documentation available to the recommendation andauthoring subsystem 182 includes parts catalogs, maintenance manuals,schematic diagrams, fault code listings, and back shop manuals, andvarious multimedia files, such as video or audio instructionalmaterials. This information represents typically-recommended documentsneeded for a repair. Specific pages and excerpts from this generalizeddocumentation are identified by the recommendation authoring subsystem182 when the recommendation is instantiated for a particular locomotiverepair.

[0070] In one exemplary embodiment, the recommendation authoring system182 interfaces with the technical documentation subsystem 186 to locatetechnical documentation and multimedia presentations relevant to therecommendation. The recommendation authoring system 182 provides searchcriteria to the technical documentation subsystem 186 for retrievingrelevant documentation. Included within the search criteria are one ormore of the following: part name, part number, action name, repair faultcode, and locomotive model. Search scope information is also provided tothe technical documentation subsystem 186 for specifying where to lookfor relevant documentation. Included within the search scope are partscatalogs, maintenance manuals, schematics, back shop manuals, faultanalysis pages, field modification instructions, and multimedia files.In response to the inputs, the technical documentation subsystem 186responds to the recommendation authoring system 182 with the location ofthe technical documentation that satisfies the search criteria. Theoutput is a list and each entry in the list contains the followinginformation about that entry: location of the page (for subsequentretrieval), size of the file making up the page, the type of page (i.e.,the document source), and the locomotive road number or numbers to whichthe page applies.

[0071] Another interface between the recommendation authoring subsystem182 and the technical documentation subsystem 186 provides access to abrowsing mechanism within the technical documentation subsystem 186.This browsing mechanism allows the repair expert to review thedocumentation pages to determine if it is necessary to refine the searchcriteria.

[0072] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the recommendation authoring subsystem182 also interfaces with the repair status subsystem 184. Therecommendation authoring subsystem 182 allows selection of existinggeneral repair recommendations for a specific problem or repair code.Also, the recommendation authoring subsystem 182 inputs a summary of therepair recommendation to the repair status subsystem 184 so that thelatter can create an entry in the repair status database for eachrepair. The repair status subsystem 184 responds to the recommendationauthoring subsystem 182 when the repair entry is created. Thetransmitted summary includes: the repair case number, the date and timethat the recommendation was issued, the road number to which it applies,the steps outlined in the repair recommendation, the technicaldocumentation to accompany each repair step, and the repair status. Therecommendation authoring subsystem 182 also provides to the repairstatus subsystem 184 the data store locations for the data entryobjects. The purpose of this input is to ensure that the data storelocations are recognizable by the repair status subsystem 184.

[0073] The repair status subsystem 184 also supplies a list of possiblelocations for storing the values collected by the data entry objects.The repair status subsystem 184 stores these values when they arereceived following an actual repair event, as part of the repairfeedback process.

[0074] The technical documentation subsystem 186 maintains the technicaldocumentation repository and supports the selection and retrieval oftechnical documentation into a repair specific set of relevant documentsby the repair expert. In one embodiment, the technical documentation isavailable in a web-based format. The technical documentation subsystem186 supports the retrieval of individual pages or sections fromtechnical documents, rather than retrieval of the entire document. Thetechnical documentation is also indexed. These indexes provide quickidentification of document subsets. For example, the indices can supportidentification of all documentation pages related to a specific partnumber, a specific part name, or a repair process name. All relevanttechnical documents are stored in the technical documentation subsystem186. The stored documents are: parts catalogs, wiring and partsschematics, maintenance manuals, fault analysis pages, back shopmanuals, field modifications instructions, training instructions, partidentification animations, assembly animations, etc. The documentationincludes both text, graphics, and visualization based documents.Thumbnail style summaries may be included with each document.

[0075] The files of the technical documentation subsystem 186 can beremotely browsed. That is, a user logged in to a network computerconnected to the diagnosis and repair system 140, but not necessarilythe equipment hosting the technical documentation subsystem 186, cansearch for pages, view pages, follow links between pages, and copy pagesto a local file.

[0076] The technical documentation subsystem 186 supports a searchmechanism based on one or more of the following criteria: part name,part number, action name, fault code, locomotive model, and documenttype. Search results are presented in the form of a summation of thesearch results, with pointers to the actual pages so they can beretrieved on demand. The technical documentation subsystem 186 alsosupports the retrieval of individual document pages or document sectionsfrom its files. The retrieval process copies the retrieved pages to theuser's application. The retrieval mechanism automatically adjustshyperlinks between the copied pages accordingly.

[0077] The technical documentation subsystem 186 receives two types ofinputs from the recommendation authoring system 182. These includesearch criteria and search scope. Search criteria refers to one or moreof the following: part name, part number, action name, fault code, orlocomotive model number. The search scope refers to parts catalogs,maintenance manuals, schematics, back shop manuals, fault analysispages, and field modification instructions.

[0078] The output from the technical documentation subsystem 186 is thelist of all the technical documentation pages satisfying the searchcriteria. Each entry contains the following: the location of the page(for subsequent retrieval), the size of the file that makes up the page,the type of page (that is, the document source), and the locomotive roadnumbers to which the page applies. The recommendation authoringsubsystem 182 can also access the technical documentation subsystem 186for generalized browsing of the files. This feature allows a user tobrowse the documentation pages to determine the appropriate searchcriteria to use.

[0079] In one exemplary embodiment, the portable unit server 141 may usethe following data concepts: specific recommendation directories, useridentity files, portable unit status databases and home page files.

[0080] The recommendation directory is the location of web-deliverable,linked packages of repair instructions and technical documentation(including multimedia files) provided by the diagnosis and repair system140 for each repair recommendation. This information is transferred tothe portable unit server 141 and filed there. Each recommendationdirectory has a standard file format and architecture that allows theportable unit server 141 to read summary information about the repairrecommendation.

[0081] Each repair home page begins with a summary of the repair stepsand their corresponding feedback or data entry objects. From theseoriginal repair actions, the technician can drill down to more detailedinformation about the repair steps via links. In one embodiment, thereis always a one-click path back to the original repair action from thedeeper links. Once the repair step has been completed and appropriatefeedback information obtained and recorded, the next step in the repairprocess is displayed, with links again to supporting documentation.

[0082] The user identity file, used by the portable unit server 141 as adata concept, contains names of all technicians registered to use theportable units 14. When a technician logs on, the identity entered inthe log in box is checked against the identities stored in the portableunit server 141. If the identification is not in the file, thetechnician is asked to re-enter the identification information. Theportable unit server 141 also includes a portable unit status databasecontaining information about the deployment of each portable unit 14.

[0083] In one exemplary embodiment, each repair recommendation may havea structure that includes the following data: the recommendationidentification number, the recommendation status, the technicianidentification number, the portable unit identification number, the login time when the repair began, and the log out time when the repair wasfinished. Each repair recommendation has a file containing thisinformation.

[0084] The last data element used by the portable unit server 141 is thehome page list of recommendations. The home page list is the initialfile displayed on the portable unit 14 when a technician logs on. Thehome page file includes a list of the currently active recommendationswith: the locomotive road number, the repair technician identificationnumber, the repair status, and a short description of the repair. Atechnician selects a specific recommendation from the home page file fortransfer to his portable unit 14, at which time the specificrecommendation directory is transferred to the portable unit 14.Whenever any data related to an active repair recommendation is changed,the home page file is automatically modified to reflect the change.

[0085] The repair status subsystem 184 (see FIG. 7) maintains andprovides information on the status of each repair. Instantiating arepair recommendation triggers the creation of an entry in thelocomotive history database 50 of the repair status subsystem 184. Thelocomotive history database 50 is updated with data values collected bythe data entry objects during a repair operation. Each repair entry inthe locomotive history database 50 supports the following data items:repair case number, railroad case number, locomotive road number, thedate the recommendation was issued, the rail yard where the repair wasperformed, and a list of the rail yard personnel who worked on therecommendation. Each repair entry also includes the data valuescollected with each step, the date the repair step was performed (asderived from the data collection process), and the current repair status(e.g., none, active, halted, or complete).

[0086] A new repair status entry is created in the repair recordsdatabase 50 of the repair status subsystem 184 as follows. When a newrecommendation is instantiated in the recommendation authoringsubsystem, a summary is passed to the repair status subsystem 184. Thisaction triggers the creation of an entry in the repair records database50 for the recommended repair. If a recommendation for a given casenumber is instantiated multiple times, the repair status subsystem 184maintains the latest version of the recommendation. The repair statussubsystem 184 maintains the most recent feedback irrespective of theversion of the recommendation.

[0087] As discussed above, there is a considerable amount of technicaldocumentation available to the technician using the portable unit 14.The technician can navigate or search through the technicaldocumentation by using wizard applications or visual drill downs.Additionally, the technical documentation includes on-line tutors thatcan be used to enhance the technician's understanding of the structureand function of the locomotive. The tutors are available in variouslevels of difficulty.

[0088]FIGS. 8 and 9 will be described jointly below. FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of a computerized method for identifying repeatedly malfunctioningequipment and root causes therefor. FIG. 9 illustrates in block diagramform basic components of an exemplary computerized system that may beused for practicing the flow chart of FIG. 8. As seen in FIG. 8,subsequent to start step 200, step 202 allows to provide a database 220(FIG. 9) comprising detailed equipment data including data indicative ofhistorical equipment malfunctions in a plurality of pieces of equipment.It will be appreciated that the equipment may include a plurality ofreplaceable structural arrangements, such as systems, subsystems,assemblies, subassemblies and components thereof. Thus, it will beunderstood that the techniques of the present invention are not limitedto identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment, such as a selectedlocomotive, or a selected fleet of trucks but such techniques may beused for identifying any repeatedly malfunctioning replaceablestructural arrangement in the equipment. This may be useful to identifyfor example that respective speed sensors associated with a givenwheel-axle are the same speed sensors which have repeatedlymalfunctioned, since this may be an indication that the root cause ofthe malfunctions have little to do with the speed sensors but may be anindications of a defective power line for the sensor, or defectiveinterface wiring, etc. The equipment data includes a unique equipmentidentifier for uniquely relating each malfunction to respectiveequipment. Step 204 allows to analyze the database for a selected timewindow to review equipment malfunctions logged in the database andresulting in servicing activities over that time window. The analysis ofthe data in database 220 may be performed using a processor 222 (FIG.9). Step 206 allows to establish an equipment malfunction threshold forthe number of malfunctions occurring during a predetermined period oftime. The established equipment malfunction threshold may be stored inmemory 224 (FIG. 9). Step 208 allows to configure database 220 toautomatically issue a report identifying any respective equipment as arepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the number of equipmentmalfunctions resulting in servicing activities over that time windowexceeds the equipment malfunction threshold. The issuance of the reportmay be performed by a report module 228, which may be part of database220. It will be appreciated that report module 228 need not be part ofdatabase 220 since such module could be made part of processor 222 or itcould be a stand alone module. An input/output device 226 (FIG. 9) isprovided to communicate with the database to receive the report from thedatabase. As suggested above, many types of communication techniques maybe used for communicating information between the database and theinput/output device, including wireless communication. A work order forthe repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment, upon being instantiated, may beconfigured to remain open at least until service personnel logs commentdata into the work order indicative of possible root causes for therepeatedly malfunctioning equipment.

[0089]FIG. 10 illustrates an exemplary report 250 for identifyingrepeatedly malfunctioning equipment (bad actors), such as the locomotiveidentified by Road No. 889. The report lists three work orders openedover a predetermined period of time, e.g., the last 120 days, thatresulted in servicing actions for that locomotive. The report furtherincludes the organizations that performed the servicing and comments,such as the type of malfunctions identified in the respective workorders.

[0090]FIG. 11 illustrates details in connection with a work order 300that includes respective data fields, such as data field 302, foracknowledging that a piece of equipment has been identified as a “badactor”, i.e., a repeatedly malfunctioning equipment. Work order 300further includes a data field 304 for including comments regarding that“bad acting” equipment. As suggested above, once the work order for therepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment has been instantiated, the order isconfigured to remain open at least until service personnel logs commentdata into the work order, e.g., data field 304, indicative of possibleroot causes for the repeatedly malfunctioning equipment. That is, theservice personnel will conduct a more detailed investigation as topossible root causes for the repeatedly malfunctioning equipment thanotherwise would be the case. For example, if the service personnel werenot specifically aware that the piece of equipment has been identifiedas repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment, that personnel would have noreason to allocate more servicing resources to conduct a more detailedinvestigation.

[0091]FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary screen 400 including a data field402 for identifying a fleet of vehicles. A data field 404 allows toouter a selected time window (e.g., in days) to review fleetmalfunctions logged in the database 202 (FIG. 9) that resulted inservicing activities over the time window. Respective data fields 406allow for searching the database based on the type of malfunctions thathave occurred on the fleet. A data field 408 allows to establish a fleetmalfunction threshold for the number of malfunctions occurring during apredetermined period of time, e.g., the time window.

[0092]FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary work-flow module 500 embodyingaspects of the present invention to control various processes associatedwith implementing a repair or service recommendation. The first step ofthe work order module 500 is the development of a work scope at a step502. The development of the work scope is influenced by certain tasksand processes input to a work order. For example, a repairrecommendation 504, locomotive specific information 506, railroadspecific information 508, field modification instructions and otherrecommendations requiring implementation 510 and an inspection wizard512, the use of which may identify and add additional items to the workscope 502. The work scope information is input to a work order backbone520 for creating a work order to implement the various tasks associatedwith the work scope 502. In preparing the work order, the cycle timeassociated with each task must be considered. Additionally,consideration must be given to sequencing available locomotives forrepair. This information is also input to the work order backbone 520from a step 522. Factors that influence the repair schedule includematerial availability as indicated by a step 524 and the availability ofother required resources, such as the availability of technicians toimplement the repairs as indicated by the reference character 526.

[0093] Following the sequencing step 522, the work order is activatedand execution of the repair initiated as indicated by a step 528. Thetechnician is directed during the execution of the repair through theportable unit 14 as discussed above. The information displayed on theportable unit 14 directs the step-by-step activities of the technicianthrough the repair process including providing documentation andinformation from the various databases and modules discussed inconjunction with FIG. 2. With regard to FIG. 8, this information isindicated by a reference character 530. The technician also utilizesmaintenance troubleshooting wizards, identified by a reference character532 during the repair process. Also as discussed above, data entryobjects (feedback) are provided by the technician as the repairprogresses. This information is shown as symbolically supplied to thework order backbone 520 and from there stored in a data warehouse 534.Real time repair status information is provided from the work orderbackbone 520 to a monitoring board 535, which may be located in theservice shop 16 or at the service yard 13 for providing information onthe status of the various in-process repairs. Further, information as tothe repair processes can be supplied directly to a customer either inwritten form or transmitted electronically for display at a customersite, as shown by a reference character 536. Additionally, the statusinformation generated by the work order backbone 520 can be reviewed andused to improve the reliability of the various locomotive subsystems andfurther used to improve repair processes across all the service shopsand service yards operated by the railroad. Communication of this statusinformation across the railroad network can be efficiently accomplishedvia satellite communications, a land-based system or through a cellulartelephone network.

[0094] The present invention can be embodied in the form ofcomputer-implemented processes and apparatus for practicing thoseprocesses. The present invention can also be embodied in the form ofcomputer program code including computer-readable instructions embodiedin tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, orany other computer-readable storage medium, wherein, when the computerprogram code is loaded into and executed by a computer, the computerbecomes an apparatus for practicing the invention. When implemented on acomputer, the computer program code segments configure the computer tocreate specific logic circuits or processing modules.

[0095] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention havebeen shown and described herein, it will be obvious that suchembodiments are provided by way of example only. Numerous variations,changes and substitutions will occur to those of skill in the artwithout departing from the invention herein. Accordingly, it is intendedthat the invention be limited only by the spirit and scope of theappended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computerized method for identifying repeatedlymalfunctioning equipment and root causes therefor, said methodcomprising: providing a database comprising detailed equipment dataincluding data indicative of historical equipment malfunctions in aplurality of pieces of equipment, said equipment data including a uniqueequipment identifier for uniquely relating each malfunction torespective equipment; analyzing the data base for a selected time windowto review equipment malfunctions logged in the database and resulting inservicing activities over that time window; establishing an equipmentmalfunction threshold for the number of malfunctions occurring during apredetermined period of time; configuring said database to automaticallyissue a report identifying any respective equipment as arepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the number of equipmentmalfunctions resulting in servicing activities over that time windowexceeds the equipment malfunction threshold; providing an input/outputdevice to communicate with said database to receive the report from thedatabase; instantiating a work order for saidrepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment, wherein said order is configured toremain open at least until service personnel logs comment data into thework order indicative of possible root causes for the repeatedlymalfunctioning equipment.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the equipmentcomprises a plurality of subsystems and said malfunctions occur in thesame subsystem, with the threshold number being set at a first number.3. The method of claim 2 wherein said malfunctions occur in at least twodifferent subsystems, with the threshold number being set at a secondnumber.
 4. The method of claim 2 wherein said malfunctions occur in atleast two different subsystems, with the threshold number being set at asecond number higher than said first number.
 5. The computerized methodof claim 1 wherein said database is configured to gather a list ofsimilar equipment identified as repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment. 6.The computerized method of claim 5 wherein said list is processedrelative to the detailed equipment data to determine at least oneequipment parameter pattern for each similar equipment identified asrepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment.
 7. The computerized method of claim6 wherein said one parameter pattern is selected from the groupcomprising equipment operator, equipment age, actual usage of theequipment, historical equipment maintenance, equipment service site,equipment service personnel, equipment upgrades, and environmentalconditions through which the identified equipment has operated.
 8. Thecomputerized method of claim 1 wherein said equipment data is configuredto identify a respective replaceable structural arrangement of theequipment as a repeatedly-malfunctioning-arrangement based on whetherthe number of malfunctions of respective arrangements installed at asame location in the equipment exceeds an arrangement malfunctionthreshold over a selectable time window.
 9. The computerized method ofclaim 8 wherein the replaceable structural arrangement is selected fromthe group comprising a system, subsystem, assembly, subassembly, andcomponents thereof.
 10. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein theinput/output device communicates with the database via wirelesscommunications.
 11. The computerized method of claim 1 wherein theinput/output device communicates with the database while at a remoteservice site for the equipment.
 12. The computerized method of claim 1wherein the list of similar equipment identified asrepeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment for the selected equipment isdownloaded to the input/output device.
 13. The computerized method ofclaim 1 wherein the input/output device interfaces with the list ofsimilar equipment identified as repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipmentwhile the list is resident in the database.
 14. A computerized systemfor identifying repeatedly malfunctioning equipment and root causestherefor, said system comprising: a database comprising detailedequipment data including data indicative of historical equipmentmalfunctions in a plurality of pieces of equipment, said equipment dataincluding a unique equipment identifier for uniquely relating eachmalfunction to respective equipment; a processor configured to analyzethe data base for a selected time window to review equipmentmalfunctions logged in the database and resulting in servicingactivities over that time window; memory configured to store anequipment malfunction threshold for the number of malfunctions occurringduring a predetermined period of time; a report module in said databaseconfigured to automatically issue a report identifying any respectiveequipment as a repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment whenever the numberof equipment malfunctions resulting in servicing activities over thattime window exceeds the equipment malfunction threshold; and aninput/output device configured to communicate with said database toreceive the report from the database, said device further configured toinstantiate a work order for said repeatedly-malfunctioning-equipment,wherein said order is configured to remain open at least until servicepersonnel logs comment data into the work order indicative of possibleroot causes for the repeatedly malfunctioning equipment.